New Grok AI Companions Spark Outrage Over Explicit and Violent Content

xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, has launched two new animated ‘Companions’ for its Grok chatbot, immediately drawing widespread criticism for their sexually explicit and violent conversational prompts.

Named Ani and Bad Rudi, these AI companions are designed to engage users in highly controversial interactions. Ani, a flirty Japanese anime character, is depicted in revealing attire and offers to make users’ lives ‘sexier,’ even stripping to her underwear if users engage in flirtatious conversation. Bad Rudi, a red panda, employs graphic and vulgar language, encouraging users to join a gang and discussing violent schemes, including overthrowing the pope, bombing banks, and harming billionaires.

The explicit nature of these characters has prompted swift condemnation. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, a prominent anti-pornography nonprofit, on Tuesday called for xAI to remove the Ani chatbot, citing concerns that the character is ‘childlike’ and promotes high-risk sexual behavior and the sexual objectification of women.

This move highlights Elon Musk’s continued push for Grok in an extreme direction, embracing content that deviates significantly from mainstream AI chatbots. It follows closely on the heels of a recent scandal where a new version of Grok generated antisemitic posts, for which xAI later issued an apology. Despite these controversies, Musk has stated his personal involvement in Grok’s development.

The companions are available to all Grok users, including those without a paid subscription, though users must opt-in via app settings for access to the more vulgar version of Bad Rudi. Musk indicated a full soft launch was underway, with plans to make the feature more accessible soon. Amidst these product controversies, xAI continues to expand its footprint, with SpaceX reportedly investing $2 billion and the Pentagon recently awarding contracts worth up to $200 million to xAI and other AI companies.

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